Last month, two senior diplomats met in Shanghai, renewed their 20-year-old working relationship, and finalized the text of a sensitive joint communiqué.

The relevant communiqué (the statement of China and the United States on joint response to the climate crisis) reaffirmed the two countries’ commitment to achieving the Paris climate goals. The two people who signed the agreement-the US climate envoy John Kerry and his colleague Xie Zhenhua-are the center of hope that the two countries can start cooperating again on climate change after the interruption of Trump’s tenure.

Villanova Assistant Professor of Political Science Deborah Seligthorne said: “Kerry has adopted a positive and realistic attitude in cooperation with the Chinese. I think China has chosen to thank him and reunite the two. No accident.” American universities.

Todd Stern, formerly the chief climate negotiator of former US President Barack Obama and now a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution think tank, believes this is the right approach. He pointed out: “This kind of regular, often difficult but very participatory dialogue between the two countries is what contributed to the formation of the Paris Agreement.”

US President Joe Biden (Joe Biden) signed an order on his first day in office requiring him to rejoin the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. However, the first test of the agreement will be held in Glasgow in November, when countries will meet at the United Nations COP26 climate change conference to assess progress in achieving the Paris target and possibly make it more stringent. Many analysts say that in order for this process to proceed normally, Kerry and Xie need to rekindle the bond they formed during the negotiation of the Paris Agreement, especially since the two countries together account for 45% of global carbon emissions.

Former Assistant Secretary of Defense Joseph Nye (Joseph Nye) Recently wrote: “When it comes to new transnational issues, such as climate change and epidemics, success will require cooperation from other parties… Greenhouse gases and viruses do not respect borders or respond to military forces.”

However, even when Kerry and Xie started working together again, the relationship between the two countries remained turbulent for many other reasons, including Biden’s refusal to remove Trump-era trade tariffs and US criticism of China’s human rights violations.

Kerry insisted in February that other issues would not hinder climate negotiations. He said: “This is an independent international crisis. In any case, each of us needs to deal with it.” His short-term goal is for Chinese leaders to clarify more clearly how to curb carbon emissions in this decade.

Although Chinese President Xi Jinping has formulated an ambitious plan to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, he said nothing about the measures China will take before 2030.

Stern said: “If China’s emissions level or even rise before 2030, it will be devastating for any hope of keeping global warming below 1.5C.”

Some believe that Beijing’s lack of a clear understanding of how it will reduce emissions in the next few years shows that even a well-functioning diplomatic partnership has limitations. Taiya Smith, director of the China Program of the Climate Leadership Council, said: “China’s commitment to achieving net zero emissions is of little significance.” “There are few signs that China is serious about reducing its emissions in the short term.”

But others say that establishing a stable relationship is essential, and the reason is not limited to setting emission targets. For example, in 2018, when the Trump administration imposed tariffs on solar panels made in China, the Sino-US trade war could slow the promotion of green technology in the United States. Although sales are picking up again quickly as Chinese manufacturers find ways around U.S. regulations, the bank shows how other bilateral issues can undermine the progress of climate change.

Many people also warned that the Trump administration’s previous efforts to prevent China from stealing American technology have discouraged scientists from working together. Seligthorne said: “The Ministry of Justice has been busy scaring scientists into cooperating with each other. This is a serious problem.”

If the two countries are united, the efforts of the European Union and the United Kingdom as brokers may be key. Stern said: “If you let the United States, China and the European Union work together, then you already account for about half of global emissions.” “But you will also stimulate others to take more action.”

However, since the United States and China have now signed an agreement to achieve zero net carbon emissions by the middle of this century, some people believe that as each country introduces relevant policies to achieve this goal, domestic politics must take the lead.

Smith said: “Fundamentally, climate change is a domestic issue.” “We foolishly thought that China would do what we want them to do, just because it is good for them.”

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